Chapter 204: Knock them down

The second the First horned rabbit's foot landed near the first fire flower seed Walker had sent off was the moment it burst in to bloom. The fire flower had been taking its time to incubate as it normally did when used. Walker had tried to plan it perfectly so that when the rabbits would reach them the first spell would burst and capture them. The flaming vines were doing just that, easily twenty horned rabbits were trapped within the expanding vines as buds began to form. The hair on them was burning off and the vines wrapped around them more and more. The buds on the first spell were getting ready to bloom when the second spell burst as well. The rabbits that had avoided the first spell were quickly snared by flaming vines. The squealing of the rabbits was deafening. Su and Remey gave each other a look knowing that these enemies were too close.

The first spell's buds burst in to bloom. The heat and light from the explosion shook the ground and blinded them. This was soon followed up by a symphony of explosions from the second spell as well. Many notifications flew across their systems but they couldn't even keep their eyes open to view them. The wind was whipping astound them as the flames sucked it in greedily.

Then it all stopped. There was a large group of stunned horned rabbits that had stopped dead in front of the explosions. They had been moving too fast to keep a distance and ended up right where the explosion had just been. The first two had only cleared out thirty rabbits. There were still many more that had not been dealt with, some injured were struggling to stand and start forward to keep the fight. The dazed ones soon started to move again as they realized there was not another attack on its way. 

They had vastly underestimated the sheer numbers of the rabbits, there were much more than fifty just standing in front of them. There had been many horned rabbits resting on the ground which made them seem to be patches of snow, even Gil with his sharp eyes had not noticed this. This massive group of horned rabbits had emerged from the dens and gathered to find mates and fight for dominance. They had been doing just that, attracting each other and tearing up the ground so that they could get to the small amounts of grass that had hopes of reaching the light to grow. This was plight on the plains, these excessive monsters should be thinned out!

Walker felt the earth trembling more...it was the last fire flower spell, it hadn't gone off with the other two. Walker quickly manipulated the earth roof he made while taking in deep breaths, this was going to be dangerous. Him and Gil fell through the ceiling on to the ground. Remey and Su had barely pulled Maria out of the way. "What in the holy heavens were you thinking?! Why are you back inside? Is it time to go out?" Remey let fly her reprimands and questions out of adrenaline but soon was answered by a deeper rumbling in the ground.

Looking at them Walker gave Su directions, "Stand in front of that wall with your shield, Everyone behind her. I don't know how big this explosion will be, I used almost all my mana in that last fire flower to make it bigger." Gil turned even more pale hearing this. Maria hid under Midnight who was direct;y behind Su bracing her back. Walker, Gil, Remey and Onyx all fell in line behind Su as well.

The terrifying sounds of earth and ice cracking along with the terrified screeching of horned rabbits filled the air. The party could feel the heat penetrating the walls causing them to burst in to sweat. The temperature seemed to rise much higher than it should. Walker had his eyes tightly closed but if he had been outside the walls and had his eyes open her would have seen a truly amazing sight.

The mana filled flame flower had been stuffed so densely that it was able to take up three times the space of a normal fire flower. The flame vines extended much hitter and stronger than the two previous spells combined. They were so formidable that some horned rabbits had been defeated from being snared alone. The buds that grew were double the size of the normal fire flower spell. The spell seemed to thirst for the air around it taking in so much that the horned rabbits couldn't even breath. This brought them to a standstill allowing the vines to trap even more. 

Nearly ever rabbit was trapped now, the ones that were not were struggling to breath and force themselves away from the terror they felt. Their instincts screamed for the to escape this death by fire. The air seemed to suddenly stand still, no sound was made. Even the horned rabbits felt that this was it, the peace of death. The deep roar of the flower buds blooming in to massive flaming flowers rocked the ground. The explosion tore up the earth below it and incinerated the rabbits the vines had trapped.

The party held closely to each other as the shock wave from Walker's forced attack broke away the spikes and walls. Su felt herself being pushed back and only had hope that the walls and her shield would hold together long enough. Flames brushed the party just slightly, not enough to burn them but enough to show its strength. Su could feel her hands beginning to blister but held fast. They had no hearing due to the explosions and their balance was off, if anything remained and did not run they would not be able to defend themselves at all. 

The smell of burned meat and hair was the only thing any of them could sense. They felt as if they had been baked in the sun all day. Su knew her hands were burned from holding her shield but she had thrown it done as soon as the pressure faded. Lucky or unlucky the nerves in her hands were not able to send the signal for pain. She grabbed the shoulder of who she thought to be Walker and tried to yell for healing. Feeling that someone was in turn grabbing her own shoulders she could feel energy flowing in to her, the feelings returning to her hands. She had found the right person luckily. 

The breeze picked back up, blowing away smoke in the air and letting the normal light of the sun shine through. Walker was still in a state of deafness but had opened his eyes. Su had grasped around and found his shoulder which allowed him to in turn hold her shoulders in place. He knew he was about to exhaust his mana but he healed her anyways. Remey and Midnight had opened their eyes ready for a fight but were instead staring at the scene before them.

There was a huge scorched crater when Walker had sent his spells. The charred ground looked like it had been struck by a dragon's breath. The burning or charred bodies of horned rabbits were strewn about here and there. Some were severely burned and falling in to death having been just out of range of the flame vines. The system was still sending notifications to each of them as Remey and Midnight started to come back to the reality of things. It was their turn to get to work. Walker saw the two run off and he fell in to his mana deficient slumber. Gil was sitting next to him feeling just as drained. Su and Onyx were still there watching over the two and Maria. Maria had crouched in to a ball with her hands over her ears. The light seemed to flutter around her trying to hide her away from their eyes. 

Su was very vigilant even though there was no sign of any enemy approaching, she refused to relax until she knew, The rubble that had been their little tower was basically a pile of cracked and burned dirt, if Su did not have her shield they all would have been very badly burned. Even after Walker's healing Su still felt the burns in her hands, they would need more time and more healing. 

Midnight and Remey quickly finished off the remaining horned rabbits, those that had been slightly harmed or completely unharmed were still running in fear. The massive explosion had been so terrifying that they would not stop running for at least an hour. The fear of fire would greatly shape every single surviving horned rabbit's life to come. Taking about an hour to check the immediate area Midnight and Remey had finished off and dragged back many bodies. There were partially cooked, burned, charred, so many variations of damaged horned rabbits. The system had finally finished notifying them leaving everyone but Walker who was still unconscious amazed. They had gained a massive chunk of experience they needed to get much closer to level fifteen and unlocking the heroic leveling system.

'73 horned rabbits defeated.

1460 exp gained multiplies to 14600 exp'